Tutorial: 100% Accurate Reflections

In this After Effects tutorial I will demonstrate to you how to build a two-camera rig in order to create perfect 3D reflections. Using this technique, you will be able to reflect not only 3D layers, but also lights, particles, as well as any plug-in that obeys the movement of AE’s 3D camera.

The setup is trivially easy when using hand-animated cameras, but in the second half of the video I also show you how to create a more complex rig for use with Video Copilot’s Sure Target 2 camera controls.

The music used in the preview is a fragment of an Instrumental Mix of Perfect Exceeder by MASON vs Princess Superstar.

You may also download the tutorial from its Vimeo page. The preview video can also be watched on YouTube.

I will not teach you how to create the trailer, but I am attaching the AE file in which I created it. Dissect it on your own :) Also, keep in mind you can animate the floor and the rig is going to hold – well, as long as you don’t tilt it.

35 Comments

[…] on creating dead accurate reflections that will work with any object type in After Effects, to watch the tutorial make clicky here. If you remember a while back, VideoCopilot had a reflection tutorial, as well as a friendly free […]

Quba, great job on this tutorial. I wish I had watched it about 2 years ago. So many reflections that I could have done easier.

I combined your method with SureTarget, but instead of all the expressions I did something a little different. I used the â€œCreate Baked Cameraâ€ option in Sure Target. Then I duplicated my master comp and made the â€œreflection compâ€. In the reflection comp, I had to make a 3D null, then cut the position and orientation from the baked camera and paste those keyframes into my 3D null. Then I parented the baked camera to the 3D null, and the 3D null to the floor, flipped it in Z space. WORKED LIKE A CHARM. Thanks for sharing.

Your tutorials are very good BUT you spend too much time on unrelated matters and it bores the crap out of me. If your tutorial is on creating reflections then spend more time on it.

I’m not really interested in watching you tweak the particle properties. Just safe it as a preset and apply it during the tutorial and if you want, put the preset as part of the download.

I’ve watched quite a few of your tutorials but I’ve also never ever watched one in its entirety. You should re-think how you prep your tutorials and what it is that you want to share and concentrate on that. You keep getting side-tracked every time I watch you.

Not only will your tutorials be quicker and more to the point but you will take less time and probably do a few more too.

Watching in 2014. Just what I needed & had no idea how to solve.
Your reflections tutorial is amazing & easy to understand.
(I was looking how to get Particular to reflect on the floor.)
Your grit on the floor was something I didn’t know I needed, but that
little bit at the end of your tutorial made all the difference in how my floor looks.

[…] Check out this tutorial by Quba Michalski. Reflections are always a nice touch to make a design in any media stand out and look clean. I’m a fan of it. To view Quba Michalski’s site go to: Quba HQ […]